Expedite the fencing off of the Murchison Falls National park to combat Human-wildlife conflicts
I call upon the Ugandan government and the oil companies to support Uganda Wildlife Authority to expedite the fencing off of the Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) to prevent wild animals from invading the nearby communities.
Op-Ed: The government of Uganda made commercial oil discoveries in the pristine, ecosenstive and biodiverse Albertine Graben in 2006.
The Ugandan government alongside TotalEnergies E&P and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) (U) Ltd decided to commercialize Uganda’s oil reserves through three projects that is Kingfisher, East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and Tilenga. The oil projects which were commercialized partially cover the Murchison Falls National Park.
And as we all know, the Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) is one of Uganda’s oldest, largest and most visited park and is under the management of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
The park which is an important biodiversity conservation resource and supports the tourism sector as well as fisheries sectors, is however, facing unprecedented pressure from oil and gas threats.
The Tilenga oil project infrastructural developments have had negative impacts on wildlife. In Buliisa district especially in Bugana village where the project is being operated, the residents are complaining that they are grappling with the increased cases of elephant attacks.
The district leaders report that they have been registering elephant attacks since year 2021 and that from year 2023 up to date, over 4 people including a 15-year old boy, a 67-year old man, a 42-year old woman have been killed by elephants.
In addition, the elephants have destroyed the resident’s crops causing food insecurity in the area. The school going children too have not been spared, their education has been interrupted due to fear that the elephants might attack the rest of the children.It has been revealed that the elephants are leaving the park because of the vibrations from the oil rig that is being used to drill oil from the park. The oil rig shakes the ground and vibrate their feet hence altering their behaviors.
If I recall well, during year 2023 State of the Nation Address, His excellency, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni informed Ugandans that the tourism sector had earned Uganda US$ 1.047 billion by February 2023 which is equivalent to 59% of all the services export received and now the elephants are increasingly leaving the park which might affect Uganda’s tourism sector.
For Uganda’s tourism sector not to be affected, I plea TotalEnergies and the Ugandan government to stop all oil exploitation activities in the Murchison falls national park since it is one of the oldest, largest and most visited park in the country.
Last but not least, I call upon the Ugandan government and the oil companies to support Uganda Wildlife Authority to expedite the fencing off of the Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP) to prevent wild animals from invading the nearby communities.
Lastly, Uganda Wildlife Conflicts (UWA) in partnership with TotalEnergies should compensate the oil host communities whose livelihoods have been affected due to oil-induced human-wildlife conflicts.
The author is Hildah Nsimiire, a concerned citizen
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